Everton Want to Sign Chelsea Loanee Romelu Lukaku at The End of The Season

Everton boss Roberto Martinez has admitted he would like to sign Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku on a permanent deal at the end of the season but says a January transfer is not an option.

Martinez has made no secret of his desire to sign the 20-year-old permanently, after Lukaku scored nine Premier League goals in the first half of his season-long deal from Stamford Bridge.

The Blues do not have the option to recall Lukaku from Goodison Park this month and Martinez says the West London outfit will not consider any offers from rivals clubs for the youngster in January.

“I know Chelsea are not contemplating listening to any offers and Romelu is highly regarded there,” Martinez told the Guardian.

“It’s not in the agreement [to discuss a January transfer]. The agreement we have with Chelsea is that we will wait until the end of the season and as parent club they need to be the ones that give us the hint if it’s possible or not.

“I rate Romelu as one of the best strikers in European football now. We want to keep Romelu as long as we can, but the reality is he’s on loan for the season.

“They need to be the ones that give us the hint if it’s possible or not in the future.

“As you can imagine the situation is we need to wait until the end of the season.

“Rom is enjoying his football. He knows he’s here until the end of the season and I don’t think it would be beneficial to anyone to go into a conversation that’s not going to change the agreement we have until May.”

Lukaku scored 17 Premier League goals whilst on loan at West Brom last season and currently has more goals and assists than all three of Chelsea’s forwards – Demba Ba, Samuel Eto’o and Fernando Torres – combined.